There are few games as immersive as Warhorse Studios' medieval RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, as it offers a degree of realism that most games shy away from in exchange for power fantasies and more creative liberty. In fact, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is one of the most realistic games out there, and not just because of how its world is portrayed, but also because of how players interact with it. One of the greatest examples of that is its blacksmithing system, which takes an idea that many RPGs have only flirted with and puts players in more direct control over crafting. Now, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's upcoming Legacy of the Forge expansion aims to put that system front and center.
Legacy of the Forge will be the second of three paid expansions for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 in 2025, and it already looks like it could be a heftier bit of content than the game's Brushes With Death DLC brought before it. The upcoming DLC will take players to a once-renowned forge and task them with rebuilding it to its former glory, all while delving more into the backstory of Henry's adoptive father, Martin. While the story is all but guaranteed to be a highlight of the expansion, however, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's blacksmithing will undoubtedly be in focus, and this could be a chance for the game to make what is already a good system a great one.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Legacy of the Forge DLC May Take Cues From Two KCD Expansions
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s Legacy of the Forge may reflect two earlier DLCs that reshaped the first game through story shifts and customization.
Legacy of the Forge Could Be a Turning Point for KCD2's Blacksmithing System
The Base System Is Immersive, But It's Still Too Uniform
One of the main reasons Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's blacksmithing stands out as one of its most immersive features isn't because the rest of the game pales in comparison, but because it handles crafting in a way that most games simply don't. Whereas blacksmithing in other RPGs often comes down to numbers and materials alone, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 actually puts the hammer in the player's hand, tasking them with timing their strikes, positioning those strikes well in accordance with audio cues, and even not overheating the metal.
While the story is all but guaranteed to be a highlight of the expansion, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's blacksmithing will undoubtedly be in focus, and this could be a chance for the game to make what is already a good system a great one.
However, as immersive as it is currently, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's blacksmithing is still a bit too uniform in some respects. For one thing, once players learn how, they can forge almost anything with ease, but perhaps even more than that, there is very little room for players to craft truly unique items. Ultimately, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 trades the numbers and materials game for increased immersion, but Legacy of the Forge could change that.
Legacy of the Forge Is Perfectly Positioned to Add More Depth
Rather than merely giving players more narrative reasons to smith, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Legacy of the Forge DLC is perfectly positioned to add more depth to the game's blacksmithing system in more ways than one. Firstly, it could make forging more diverse across the board and raise the skill ceiling by adding variety to the smithing process for weapons and armor. As it stands now, if players can forge one sword, they can forge them all, and Legacy of the Forge could increase complexity in that way. Secondly, if Legacy of the Forge were to allow players more control over what components are used, as opposed to simply following a recipe, it could offer them a means for making items that are unique and more personal.
Legacy of the Forge is expected to increase the Craftsmanship skill cap in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 beyond 30 to account for the increased blacksmithing players are likely to be doing.
Of course, the idea that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's blacksmithing is too straightforward or uniform isn't a consensus, and many players may still find the system to be in a good place. It is arguably a good system in an already great game, but there is still room for plenty of improvement that would add to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's roleplay value and let players add more of a personal touch to their creations — and Legacy of the Forge is the perfect opportunity for it.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 89 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- February 4, 2025
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
- Warhorse Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Deep Silver
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- CryEngine
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action-Adventure, Open-World
